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Gut microbiota composition and relapse risk in pediatric MS: A pilot study

  • Helen Tremlett
  • , Douglas W. Fadrosh
  • , Ali A. Faruqi
  • , Janace Hart
  • , Shelly Roalstad
  • , Jennifer Graves
  • , Susan Lynch
  • , Emmanuelle Waubant
  • , Greg Aaen
  • , Anita Belman
  • , Leslie Benson
  • , Charlie Casper
  • , Tanuja Chitnis
  • , Mark Gorman
  • , Yolanda Harris
  • , Lauren Krupp
  • , Tim E. Lotze
  • , Sabina Lulu
  • , Jayne Ness
  • , Cody Olsen
  • Erik Roan, Moses Rodriguez, John Rose, Timothy C. Simmons, Jan Mendelt Tillema, Wendy Weber, Bianca Weinstock-Guttman
  • University of British Columbia
  • University of California at San Francisco
  • University of Utah
  • Loma Linda University Health
  • Stony Brook University
  • Harvard University
  • Baylor College of Medicine
  • Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

158 Scopus citations

Abstract

We explored the association between baseline gut microbiota (16S rRNA biomarker sequencing of stool samples) in 17 relapsing-remitting pediatric MS cases and risk of relapse over a mean 19.8 months follow-up. From the Kaplan-Meier curve, 25% relapsed within an estimated 166 days from baseline. A shorter time to relapse was associated with Fusobacteria depletion (p = 0.001 log-rank test), expansion of the Firmicutes (p = 0.003), and presence of the Archaea Euryarchaeota (p = 0.037). After covariate adjustments for age and immunomodulatory drug exposure, only absence (vs. presence) of Fusobacteria was associated with relapse risk (hazard ratio = 3.2 (95% CI: 1.2-9.0), p = 0.024). Further investigation is warranted. Findings could offer new targets to alter the MS disease course.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)153-157
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of the Neurological Sciences
Volume363
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2016

Keywords

  • 16S rRNA
  • Cox regression
  • Gut microbiota
  • Kaplan-Meier
  • Pediatric multiple sclerosis
  • Relapse risk
  • Survival analyses

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